Hello and welcome to my trip report for my recent adventure sailing around South America, Patagonia and Antarctica. This was the first time me and my wife had ever visited South America, the first time we had experienced Antarctica, the first time we had sail over Christmas and New Year, and it was the first time we had sailed with the Princess cruise line.

It was an adventure that took a little over 2 years from researching it, to booking it and then trying to make sure we had everything that we needed to enjoy it to its max as this was also the most expensive journey me and my wife had been on, so we knew it would likely be our first and only visit to the southern continent.

The cruise part of this getaway would be on the Sapphire Princess, a 116,000 gross tonne, 2004 launched ship that is part of the gem-class, which would be our home for 17 nights and our transportation to 1000’s of penguins!

It wasn’t just about where we were sailing though as we also added on a stay in Buenos Aires before the cruise and a couple of nights stay in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil on the way home, so if all of that sounds of interest to you, I would love for you to join me on this journey as I take you through my Patagonia and Antarctica trip report.

If you prefer to read CruiseHols Trip Reports, here you go.

My adventure would take in the likes of Rio, Buenos Aires, Madrid and Lisbon, but it would start in the town of Stockport in Greater Manchester.

That would be where we stayed overnight before our first flight which would take us from Manchester Airport to Madrid Barajas and it was this first leg of my journey that would prove to be the trickiest.

We had originally booked with Iberia for the journey but a few months before departure, we were notified that the flight had been changed from a morning flight to a late afternoon flight and that would leave us missing our connection out of Madrid.

So, we would have to cancel that flight, which proved to be harder than it should have been and then find another flight between Manchester and Madrid, as we had already paid for parking and our return flights.

Thankfully, there was another option, with Ryanair but that meant a lot smaller weight limit for a journey we were already struggling to pack for all of the different weather conditions we were expecting.

So, with all of that sorted, we headed from the hotel to the airport and thankfully things got off to a strong start as we got away on time, had no hold ups, parked up easily and breezed through check in and security and set off on the first leg of our adventure, a flight to Madrid in Spain.

With no proper connection possible in Madrid, we would need to grab our bags, leave the airport, wait a few hours, check in and then wait for our next flight and that is just what we would do, but thankfully, it all ran to time and whilst Madrid Barajas cannot be described as one of the best airports in Europe to spend time waiting around, things didn’t drag too much.

After that, we would board our Aerolíneas Argentinas flight from Madrid to Buenos Aires, which again all ran to time and whilst I could have no complaints with the service we received from the crew and the meals we ate, one area of concern was with the lack of focus on safety, with passengers moving around the cabin well into our landing descent and no checks made to make sure seat belts were fastened.

It always makes you wonder, if the cabin crew are so blasé about safety, how do the mechanics feel?

We would arrive at the capital city of Argentina early in the morning but thankfully, we sorted an early check in at out hotel, and although that process would be delayed, we would still get to get rid of our bags, have a wash and a change of clothes and get set for a day of exploring.

We started off by walking down to the Plaza de Mayo Casa Rosada which is perhaps best known for been home to the balcony that Eva Peron made her iconic speeches from that were immortalised in the Evita musical and movie.

We usually use metro systems when in big cities to get around, but the underground in Buenos Aires just didn’t seem to match up with where we were wanting to explore, so instead of heading underground, we headed upwards to the top deck of one of the cities Hop On Hop Off buses.

By know it was the afternoon, the sun was beating down and the traffic was starting to build up, so we would simply stay onboard the bus, take in the sights and get to know the city.

The next day, we would once again head for the HOHO bus and would use it to head down to the Boca district of the city, somewhere not easy to reach otherwise.

For me, the district is best known due to the football club that play there, Boca Juniors, and their iconic blue and yellow colours are found throughout the district, which is now a bustling tourist area, full of colour, gift shops, restaurants and a relaxed vibe.

It is the sort of place to simply walk around and take it all in, from the street tango dancers to the street art and from the cobbled streets to the aromas of street food all coupled with a sprinkling of history and overlooked by the steeply banked stands of the famous La Bombonera stadium.

After spending the morning exploring La Boca, it would start to rain, so we would jump back on the bus and stay onboard until rain relented, which would perfectly aligned with us arriving at the historic Recoleta district, perhaps most famous for the Recoleta Cemetery where the great and not so great of Buenos Aires’ wealthy and not so wealthy are buried.

The headline ‘attraction’ of the cemetery is the grave of Eva Peron, wife of Juan Peron and someone who those who have an interest in history is an early adopted of the populist movement whilst those who are fans of musicals will have a revisionist version of her.

Sadly, we wouldn’t get the chance to walk around the cemetery itself as we had planned as it was closed to ‘safety reasons’ after the rain, but the district is still a great place to walk around and with some extra time on our hands, me and my wife would walk back to our hotel from there.

That would allow us to take in some of the posher parts of the city and visit the beautiful Teatro Colon and the square outside of it before grabbing some empanadas and heading back to our room.

That evening we would head to the cities giant obelisk and take in the main Christmas tree and decorations, but in truth it was nothing special.

For my last day in the city before boarding the Sapphire, me and my wife would head to San Telmo district, another historic area of the city, which is headlined by the San Telmo market.

It was there we head first and the market lived up to the expectations we had after reading reviews online before going.

It is a bustling place where locals and tourists mix in its many narrow walkways, eateries and shops, so if you are in central Buenos Aires, make sure you head there.

We noticed an outside market in a nearby street and would head their next and I am so glad I did as it turned out to be a huge market, with hundreds of stalls and many offering locally made crafts and gifts.

That gave us a great chance to do some gift shopping for ourselves and for our families before we headed to the historic Puerto Madera area, which has been redeveloped into a great place to walk around and spend time relaxing as it is home to numerous bars, cafes, shops and attractions such as a couple of sailing ships and Puente de la Mujer footbridge.

It also links the Recoleta area with the main shopping streets of the city, so we would walk from one end to the other and walk back to our hotel through the shops and galleries of Calle Florida.

It was time to repack now, get all our paperwork etc, ready for the cruise section of this adventure as it was now about time to head to the cruise port and board the Princess Sapphire for 17 nights of exploring Patagonia and Antarctica.

So now it was time to finally board our home away from home for the next 17 nights, the Sapphire Princess, and it was a relatively straightforward embarkation process as just like most lines nowadays, you do much of the hard work before you even set off to the port via the app, but it was a slower process in Buenos Aires than most ports, including a unique twist.

The ship arrived the day before we boarded, so there were no passengers getting off and that really should have speeded things up, but it still took over an hour to start boarding the ship after arriving at the port.

Once our number was called, we would head through security and to the check in desks, where we would follow the signs of the blue lane as we needed to pick up our medallions at the port.

This section was quick enough, but we would then be sent to a queue for a desk to drop off our passports. After waiting around 10-15 minutes, we got to the front to be told that we didn’t need to hand over our passports as this would be done on the ship.

That also took time and meant you had to work around the time allotted to you, so it would have been easier to just do it at the port and then forget about it, as we have done in the past with Celebrity Cruises, especially as I had to queue up anyway.

After that, we would have to join another queue, this time it was to join a shuttle bus as in Buenos Aires the terminal isn’t linked to where the ship docks and you have to board a bus, along with all of your walk on luggage- so if you want to walk off the ship at the end of the cruise with your luggage, remember you will have to drag your suitcases onto a bus.

It was a strange embarkation day as every other cruise I have done; it is a day when you board your ship, explore what it has to offer and then get ready for your departure, but for this trip, I would start the cruise part of our journey with an overnight stay in our departure port.

Due to that, I did something I never usually do and that was to eat in the main dining room on the first night and with this been my first cruise for the line, it was a great chance to get a feel for how it all works in the MDR.

It turned about to be a great choice, as me and my wife really enjoyed our meal in the Santa Fe dining room.

Our first night onboard would end with a trip to the theatre, where guest entertainers Latin Divos would be our first experience of what Princess has to offer for entertainment and whilst decent, it was nothing that we hadn’t seen before on a ship.

Without even moving a single inch in almost a day, it was time for our first shore excursion as we had booked a trip up to the Tigre Delta and a boat ride along the Parana River.

The city of Tigre is around 17 miles to the north of Buenos Aires itself in the Buenos Aires Province and sits on the Parana Delta that is a popular tourist spot for both locals and visitors to the region and after going their myself, it is not surprising.

The city acts as the centre of numerous villages spread across a number of islands in the delta in a part of the world where waterways act as roads.

It reminded me of the Kerala Backwaters in India, which you may remember from my Singapore to Mumbai trip report.

The waterways are busy with, houses line the banks and there are numerous water taxi and water bus stops, shops, cafes and even schools that can only be reached via boat.

It was on a boat that I would head out onto explore the region as it really is the only way to get to most parts of delta and it is certainly the best.

I took an organise shore excursion with Princess that saw me and wife head out on a coach trip to Tigre, before boarding a large boat with some inside and some outside seating but we would spend all of the journey stood at the back of the vessel to get a great view of the building that you sail by.

It was a circuitous route that our captain took us on that lasted around an hour and took us from the city centre docks, past several impressive villas and buildings in the city centre before heading further a field to take in where many of the locals live and work.

The journey also gave us a chance to see some incredible wildlife, meet some of our fellow passengers before the cruise ship as we had a small bit of downtime to enjoy a coffee and an alfajor- a sweet treat that you should try to find if visiting South America.

When arriving back at the port, you sail right past the Parque de la Costa, a small theme park and get a few minutes to visit a couple of shops in the well-kept port entrance, before boarding our coach to head to the nearby San Isidro cathedral.

For my visit, there was a small market in the square in front of the cathedral and whilst nice to look at, it didn’t perhaps need to be added to the excursion as it felt more like filler to make the excursion seem more than it was- the boat ride was very enjoyable in its own right.

So, after that, it was back to the ship and this time we would be leaving Buenos Aires and setting sail for three days at sea, covering Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day, before arriving at our first port of call in Punta Arenas, in Chile.

Onboard, my original plan was to head up on deck, watch us set sail before grabbing tea in the buffet and heading to a show in the theatre.

Sadly those plans would soon be thrown out of the window as we were held up by a container ship that delayed our departure by a couple of hours, so it would just be to the buffet and theatre I would head, with this night show been a Tango is Hollywood show- a fitting end to our time in the home of Tango, Buenos Aires.

We would now have 3 days at sea, which would coincide with the Christmas period as the 3 days would be the 24th, 25th and 26th of December and too be honest, before experiencing it, I was unsure as to whether I would like been on a cruise over Christmas.

We didn’t get to far before waking up on the 24th as not only did we have a delay in departing but the first few hours were spend sailing on the Rio de la Plata, where a ship the size of the Sapphire can only sail at around 7 knots but we would soon get up to 22 knots as we continued to head south.

That slow start did mean it stayed nice and warm for our first day at sea, so we would spend much of the morning on the upper decks making the most of it, before heading down to the International Dining Room for afternoon tea.

This was something that we had heard about before sailing with Princess and was something we wanted to try, but overall, it was disappointing.

We and my wife love an afternoon tea and have enjoyed our fair share of them but with Princess, it misses out on every element that makes an afternoon tea different including the cake stand and tea pots- you are better off heading for the international café where you can get the same food but when you want it.

I would nip upstairs afterwards to see what was on offer in the buffet for Christmas lunch which looked to be a decent offering whilst back downstairs there was some family activities happening in the atrium, which did have lots of decorations including a gingerbread house village.

In the staterooms, the line had put some special Christmassy things on room televisions including Christmas songs, fireplace videos and more which did make things feel a bit more Christmassy as you got changed but with the weather in the high 20 degrees Celsius, it was difficult to feel too much of the Christmas spirit for us Northern Europeans.

Our night started off by watching the Captain’s Champagne Waterfall, then Christmas carols before heading into the theatre for a production show and finishing the night off by a quick walk around the promenade and by listening to some music in the atrium.

Now it was time for the big event itself, Christmas Day, which for me and my wife started with video calls home, including spending around 1.5 hours speaking to our young niece and credit should be given to Princess as the internet stayed strong for the whole time.

After that, it was up to the buffet for a quick bite to eat and if you are a lover of sea food, you were in for a treat.

For those travelling as a family, there were plenty of activities offered including a Holly Jolly Sweater Party, meet Santa, a family festival and a festive sing along, whilst there were also Interdenominational Christmas Services on for any Christians onboard but for the rest of us and for those not celebrating the holiday, there were plenty of ‘regular’ activities on offer.

After grabbing a quick ice cream, we would head back to our cabin to get changed for Christmas dinner in the MDR and to be honest, it was decent but not great.

Aside from been a turkey dinner, there wasn’t anything special as a Christmas dinner, such as crackers, and the meal itself wasn’t as good as the first one we had in the same dining room- although my desert, called Santa Hat, was delicious.

In the theatre, there was a Christmas production show known as Holiday Wishes, which was packed out and they even simulcast it in the Explorers Lounge for those who couldn’t get a seat.

It was a fun show but again, it was similar to all of the other shows we saw- I should add here that it was great to see that Princess still has live musicians in the theatre.

With that, it was back up to the buffet for a night cap, where we saw a Santa ice sculpture that had been made before retiring to bed.

We had been heading almost due south for two days now and things were gradually getting colder, but by Boxing Day, it was time to change out of our summer clothes and bring out our winter stuff, which led to us having to do some repacking and unpacking before having a laid-back day on the ship.

That evening entertainment for me was another trip to the theatre to see the Free Me to Freddie show, a showcase of Freddy Mercury and Queen songs by what can only be described as a superfan.

She put on an excellent performance, and you could really see the passion she had the star with the show acting as a good end to the holiday festivities for us as the next day we would be up early for our arrival into the port of Punta Arenas in Chile.

The entry into Punta Arenas is a beautiful one, or for us the departure was as we would arrive at the port early in the morning.

We had a full day in port which started by heading down to the theatre for a little after 7am for our excursion to the Magdalena Island Penguin Reserve.

I am huge fan of Penguins, and it was one of the main reasons Patagonia is somewhere I have always wanted to visit, so our first stop there just had to be to see some Penguins!

Magdalena Island is just off of the coast of Punta Arenas, in the Strait of Magellan and if you love Penguins, you will love visiting here, as there are no humans and the Penguins are the ones in charge.

Starting off, we would need to walk to the terminal building, go through security and turn straight back around to get to a waiting boat that set off from right next to where our tender boat had originally dropped us off.

It wasn’t too bad, but it did seem redundant to do so. Anyway, I was soon onboard the catamaran that would take us over to the Penguins, which would take around an hour or so, but we did get to see some Penguins porpoising right next to the ship along the way and that set things up well for our time on the island.

The island itself has little in the way of facilities or shelter, so no matter what the weather brings you, you are out in it for the whole time you are on shore but thankfully we had decent weather, albeit it was very windy.

You start off in a holding area, where a guide gives you the rules of the island, which are basically that you have to always stay on the paths and stay 2 metres from the Penguins at all times.

That seemed simple enough and a well designed set up and with an hour to do the one way walk around the island, we were put into groups, and I set off to explore.

For my visit, the island was a rookery, with plenty of burrows having baby Penguins in or around them but it was just our flightless feathered friends with chicks, as a few bird species were using the island to keep their chicks safe.

Unfortunately, the island guides were a bit more interested in telling visitors what to do as even if you stayed well over 2 metres away, they would still shout at you to move if a Penguins took steps towards you.

That and the fact you all headed around in a group along the same path did make it feel a bit more like you were in an animal enclosure rather than seeing the birds in the wild, but it was still an incredible experience and something I will always remember.

After sailing back to the mainland, we exited through the terminal once again, but this time we would head into the city of Punta Arenas itself, with the main square been only around a 10-15 minute stroll from the port.

It was the main square where we would first head and walk around to see the building that surround it, visit a gift shop and walk over to the Palacio Sara Braun- a famous villa in the city.

From there, I headed to the Avenue Cristobel Colon, a Rambla style road that links the city centre to the seafront, and it was to the waterside I would head.

It is a nice walk along the front in the city, as the promenade style walkway has multiple points of interest including a fountain, statues and a monument to the Antarctic Explorer Ernest Shackleton including a model prow of the Yelcho- fitting for what was to come on this adventure.

It was incredibly windy down at the front and the closer me and my wife got to the tender port, the stronger the wind was blowing us back, seemingly trying to stop us from boarding a tender and perhaps we should have listened.

Before boarding the tender, we would have to walk through the terminal once more, which did give us the chance to visit some craft stalls that had been set up by locals including one featuring some handmade Penguins- so my wife had to by one!

After having a few minutes conversation with the seller, where hopefully I didn’t insult her with my broken Spanish, that nice moment would be the calm before the storm as our tender ride back to the ship was one to remember.

It would start off relatively normally, although certainly not a smooth ride but around half way along the trip back to the ship, we started to wobble, waves crashed into the tender and started to roll more and more, with the water line now at window height before we bounced up again.

That rolling would soon stop as we turn around and headed head on into the waves but that would lead to the tender been lifted into the air before dropping back down into the sea and let me tell you, there is no give in the seats on a tender boat and some of the sudden stops after dropping really went through your body.

Next, it was time to try and dock back at the ship and that was no mean feat, with our first attempt seeing us smack into side of the tender platform, but thankfully, the next go around would see us managed to get a rope over to the docking staff and we would be safely fastened to the ship.

The few screams and lots of gasps of my fellow passengers now turned to cheers and a round of applause for the tender driver, before everybody got off the shuttle as quickly as possible.

Thankfully, the weather took a turn for the better as we sailed away from the port and with the sun out, I would head for an early night as the next day would see us sail through glacier alley, starting at around 6am before our midday arrival into the Argentine port of Ushuaia.

We would spend the night sailing through the beautiful Chilean fjords, the Parque Nacional Alberto de Agostini and then the Beagle Channel where we would arrive at our next port of call, Ushuaia, the southernmost city in the world.

Whilst that meant we missed out on lots of the beauty of the region, me and my wife would get up early, head to the promenade deck and whilst we were greeted by a heavy fog, it soon started to fade and to wonders of Glacier Alley, a small stretch of the Beagle Channel that is home to 5 large glaciers, named after European countries.

The weather meant we would only see two of the glaciers with any clarity, but that was an impressive enough sight and thanks to the commentary of Robert Headland, we would learn about them, glaciers in general and the region as a whole as we sailed along the fabled Beagle Channel and in the stunning Tierra del Fuego.

I have sailed in similar places such as Alaska, the Arctic, Greenland and the Norwegian fjords and it still never fails to impress me when sailing through the mountains, waterfalls and glaciers of fjord like channels and waterways.

We arrived at midday into the city of Ushuaia where it isn’t a case of sailing past incredible scenery and then arriving at a city which looks like any other.

No, when you dock in Ushuaia, it is still a spectacular view, as the city is surrounded by the majestic Tierra del Fuego and some snow-capped mountains.

Our original plan was to start the day simply walking around the city, which starts from the cruise pier which is an experience in itself as you walk past a range of different cruise ships, with most been expedition style ones getting ready to head down to the Antarctic Peninsula.

But with our shore excursion moving from later in the day to just after we arrived, we headed for the theatre to board a coach tour of the stunning Tierra del Fuego national park.

The coach would take us to the Post Office at the End of the World (now closed), the visitor centre and lake in the Lake Roca area before finishing at the Lapataia Bay.

All of these locations are stunningly beautiful and a great place to simply take in the scenery, the peace and quiet and see some local wildlife.

Unfortunately, there were about 6 coaches from the ship, a few from expedition ships, numerous private tours and lots of other tourists and each and every stop, so all we got to really enjoy was avoiding other tourists before taking photos of them as they walked in front of our snaps of the lakes and mountains.

After that underwhelming tour, I would spend time walking around the city to explore what was on offer, starting by heading into the main shopping area before cutting back down to the seafront and walking back to the port entrance.

At the entrance to the port, you will find several huts, with some selling gifts and some offering excursions.

We would then walk back down the dock, past all of the expedition ships, where some had arrived whilst we had been onshore and somewhere just about to set sail, before heading to the back of the Sapphire to watch our departure.

After that it was time for the sail out of Ushuaia which takes you along the famed Beagle Channel to the Atlantic Ocean, where we saw some seals, sea lions and Penguins.

We would still have time to head into the theatre, where tonight’s show was ‘A World of Song’ by Yaniv Zarif, a singing polyglot.

There are a few places around the world that are infamous for cruisers, from the Suez Canal to the Panama Canal and from the Bay of Biscay to mighty North Atlantic, there are plenty of must cruise or must experience locations to spend time on a cruise ship before you can really see yourself as a hardened cruiser but even for those who are professional sailors, spending most of their lives on water, there is one stretch of water that puts fear into them.

That is the passage between South America and Antarctica, known as the Drakes Passage, which is the only place on the plant where three oceans meet.

The currents of the Southern Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Oceans are all funneled through a relatively narrow gap and with each been a different temperature, ships not only have to worry about that battle of currents happening below them, but also the storms that each bring with them as they battle for supremacy.

This was one part of the journey that my wife was dreading and something I was greatly looking forward to experiencing, so the first thing that I would do this day was head out onto the top deck.

With all of the videos of people sliding from one side of a deck to the other and people sitting on cruise ships looking up to the sky in one moment and then looking down at the ocean the next I had watched, it was fair to say that even in an inside cabin, I knew we were on the Drake Lake rather than suffering the Drake Shake.

Upon getting outside not only was the sea flat, but the skies were blue, for now at least as throughout the day, the weather would change, the swells would kick up and the temperatures would drop.

That of course meant we were getting closer and closer to the continent of Antarctica, for which Princess had given us a map and schedule which started by arriving at the Bismark Strait at 11 am but I would want to be up earlier than that to see our arrival in the southern continent.

So, I would head to the theatre to watch ‘A World of Song’ by Yaniv Zarif, a singing polyglot.

The Sapphire was due to arrive at the Bismark Strait at around 11am, but I wanted to get up on deck well before that to get the first glimpse of Antarctica, which is just what I did, and it didn’t take long for the first mountains to come into view.

They were impressive from a distance but only got more and more impressive the closer that I got to them. It is around 660 nautical miles between Ushuaia and the Bismark Channel, our entry into Antarctica, but it is truly a whole different world.

When it comes to visiting Antarctica, there are two options for those without there own private yacht and that is to either head there on an expedition style ship, which gives you the chance to head ashore and scenic cruising, which is done on regular cruise ships and is the type of journey I took.

There were a couple of things that I read before setting off that were instantly is that you are not really in Antarctica if you do go ashore and without a high-powered zoom on your camera or binoculars, you won’t see anything.

It was amazing just how close you got to land in many places, so even without a way to zoom in, you could see plenty and when stood on your ship, surrounded by the Antarctic Peninsula and with Antarctic snow falling on your head- it just makes the snobbery of saying you are not really there laughable.

It does of course help a lot and will really add to your time on the continent if you do have a decent pair of binoculars, plenty of zoom on your camera or ideally both, but it isn’t a necessity.

Whilst sailing across the Drakes Passage, a map had been left in my stateroom that would have the expected course we would sail and the timing for reaching different locations for our 4 days in Antarctica and that was something that would become really useful.

Our days would be broken down to early arrivals in the morning before sailing onto somewhere new in the afternoon.

The ship would spend around 4 hours sailing to Paradise Harbour and if the natural beauty of the mountains, icebergs and penguins that welcomed us to the continent weren’t quite impressive enough, Paradise Bay delivered everything else.

The sheltered waters of the bay make it an ideal spot for whales and other wildlife to rest and feed and despite a bit of a shock from the Sapphire arriving there, we would get to see a range of whales, plenty of penguins and even a seal having a snooze on an iceberg!

Me and my wife are both animal lovers and it was the chance to see so much wildlife that really attracted us to heading down to Antarctica in the first place- something we were not disappointed with at any time during our time there.

In Paradise Bay however, where you only travel at a slow speed, with hardly any noise from the ship aside from the commentary of our Antarctic specialist, Robert Headland, which made it easy to know when a whale was spotted as even if you didn’t see it, you would here the gasps from those that did.

It’s not just the animals you see whilst in Paradise Bay that made it so special for me, but it is also the incredible scenery that surrounds you including the mountains and glaciers that you sail just metres from.

It is so hard to put across in words just how majestic it is in Antarctica whilst the images and footage that I show you just doesn’t quite give the sense of scale of it all.

We spent at least 2 hours in the bay, probably closer to 3, but after been out on deck for around 12 hours at this point, aside from nipping into the buffet for some lunch, it was now time to head back inside, have some tea, warm up and grab an early night as we would need to be up early to start our next day of Antarctic Adventure.

After waking up at 6am, getting ready and heading up to top deck once again, I was back in familiar surrounds as through the night the ship had looped around Anvers Island and gone back to the entry point into the Bismark Channel.

This time however we would head to a small bay there which is where Port Lockroy is found, a British research station that welcomes ashore passengers on expedition ships and even offers a gift shop for explorers to visit.

Flying the flag of Bermuda, a British overseas territory, we would send some supplies and pizza over to the settlement, whilst some scientists would come onboard the ship.

Some would simply take the chance to have a proper shower, some would head to the theatre, and some would set up a shop onboard where we could buy some merchandise including postcards.

You can write your message on them, hand them over and they will be posted back home from Antarctica (well via Stanley in the Falklands anyway, but it’s a fun gimmick and a discussion point for anyone you send it to).

I had heard about this before setting sail and my wife was looking forward to buying some gifts from Antarctica but in the end, we never made it there.

After been boarded, the ship sails around for a couple of hours or so, into a bay and round some mountains and it just so happen to coincide from lots of penguin, whale and seal sighting.

Coupled with the incredible scenery, the snow falling and all of that wildlife meant that I just couldn’t leave our viewing area, and I was so glad that I didn’t.

After completing our circular trip, we arrived back at Port Lockroy, dropped of the scientists and then set off on a slow journey through the Bismark Channel, into the Gerlache Strait and up to Wilhelmina Bay- another safe haven for wildlife that really delivered for us.

It didn’t prove to be as fruitful as Paradise Harbour in terms of the number of whales and other animals we saw but just as everywhere in southern continent, you still stand there in awe, or at least me and my wife did.

After leaving the bay, we would stay outside as we were now coming to the end of the Gerlache Strait and heading up to the larger Bransfield Strait but before getting there, we would do a drive by of the Governoren, a whaling ship that had to be abandoned after its crew set fire to her accidentally during a drunken party to celebrate a ‘successful’ whaling season- how times change.

There was a definite split in the passengers onboard the cruise between those who were here to experience Antarctica and those who were onboard to say that they had been to Antarctica.

Me and my wife fell into the first camp as we would wrap up in layers, have thermals on and spend hours after hours outside taking in all that the region has to offer, including its -10c or lower temperatures and snow.

Plenty others onboard would have little to no winter clothing come outside in jeans and t-shirt, take a selfie and then head back inside, and that was them done.

There’s no issue in that of course and if that’s what you want to do, that’s what you do, it’s your holiday after all but it just seems weird to go to the extra effort and expense of heading to Antarctica and just do a regular cruise.

Anyway, I bring that up, because it was on this night that that became even more apparent as it was now New Years Eve and by late afternoon, plenty were already dressed up to the nines for the night ahead.

So, if we nipped inside, especially in the lower decks of the ship, you would have a mix of roughly half the passengers in outdoor gear, hats and gloves and half the passengers in full formalwear.

After leaving the Governoren, I would head inside to get change and join in the celebrations, which would be the first time I had sailed over New Years Eve.

Due to where we were in the world, it wouldn’t be a regular New Years Eve, it was still daylight outside after all, and with the Sapphire and Princess cruse line been far from party ship experience, they did do a good job.

We started with the theatre show, which whilst ok there was something off about the performer who often got lost in his set but there was more to come from him as our cruise went on.

Anyway, after the show, we headed to Atrium, which was one of three places where entertainment had been put on including a countdown to midnight, which I should also mention that there was also a family friendly one, where the countdown to midnight was earlier in the night- around 9pm I think, maybe 10.

Back in the atrium, things start with some music and then a DJ from 11pm as a large screen on the balcony showed the countdown and also showed where the Princess fleet were celebrating the special occasion, which I thought was a nice touch.

Hats, tiaras and more were handed out to those on the dancefloor, or you could just grab them from the side and a champagne bottle holder sculpted from ice was set up behind us, where free drinks were handed out to celebrate with as the timer drew closer to 0.

As things got closer to midnight, more and more staff gathered on the dance floor or around the balcony and it should be said that it was good to see Princess closed things such as the shops and other places not really needed to allow staff to have the night off.

The ships entertainers gathered on the middle balcony shortly before midnight, confetti fell from the ceiling, and the singer came back for a rendition of Auld Lang Syne.

It was a great night that was in keeping with the Princess experience, fun but not over the top but there was something that I really wanted to experience and something that only few people get to and that was to head outside and see the midnight sun over Antarctica and whilst it may not be a complete daylight experience in the Peninsula, it was close enough!

This was likely to be my first and only time in Antarctica, as much as I would love to go back there, so there would be no chance to catch up on sleep despite the late night as we had continued to sail north-west through out the night and into the Bransfield Strait.

At around 7am, we arrived at Deception Island in the South Shetland Islands, which are an island chain to the north of the Antarctic Peninsula.

The island itself is an incredible sight, and it was interesting listening to ‘Bob’ on commentary explain that it is a Caldera and active volcano, which is due for an eruption but there have been no signs of it recently.

The island is basically horseshoe shaped and internally flooded, which allows for smaller ships to sail into the heart of it and see a couple of research stations that operate throughout the summer, but we were far too big for that, so we would just get as close as we could.

Our first views of Deception Island seemed to be quite fitting as it was shrouded in a dense fog and certainty had a deceptive feel to it, but thing did clear up a bit, and we got a decent enough look at it.

After spending a couple of hours or so sailing up to, alongside and then past Deception Island and learning all about its history, we would continue north-west along the Bransfield Strait and to Admiralty Bay, an irregular bay indenting into King George Island, another South Shetland Island.

Its around 75 nautical miles between Deception Island and even in Antarctica, where you tend to travel quite slowly even in a larger channel such as the Bransfield Strait, we were not due at our next stop until around 3:30pm.

That schedule would soon go out of the window however things would start to get murkier and murkier outside, leading to the captain sounding the foghorn and lower our speed to just where it would likely have been quicker to walk, but it would soon prove to be the right decision.

Me and my wife were now down on the promenade deck doing some whale watching, as this section of our travels proved to be highly fruitful in that regard, and of course there were plenty of penguins, so we had a close-up view of what was happening.

The snow was falling harder; the fog was getting denser and there was an incredible stillness to the water around us.

Soon ice was starting to build up around the ship, and it wouldn’t take long for it to be the case of there been more ice that sea water viewable.

Next, we would get up close to the biggest iceberg that I have ever seen, something which just doesn’t come across on the footage of it as the captain announced that it was around half a kilometre across and it was much taller than our ship was.

Thankfully, the weather would start to improve, with the snow going off, the fog clearing and we were soon able to build up some speed and continue on to Admiralty Bay but there would still be plenty to see along the way including lots of penguins, my first ever sighting of a blue whale that pooped up right next to the ship for an incredible view and lots of other wildlife.

Around teatime, King George Island came into view, and we would soon head into our last bay, Admiralty Bay which again acts as a safe haven for wildlife in the harsh waters of Antarctica and is home to a couple of research stations- a Polish one and a Brazilian one.

This was the largest bay that we entered allowing us to spend lots of time exploring its numerous nooks and crannies. The shape of it reminds me of a hand, a right hand to be precise, with a stretched-out thumb and 4 small fingers.

At the end of each digit is a glacier and there are 3 fjords in the bay to explore and explore we did as we spent quite some time in there and I am so glad we did.

By now it was almost customary to see penguins, we had very literally seen 1000’s at this point, and even whales had become quite a common sight but the fjord we sailed along in Admiralty Bay, or the thumb if you like, stood out even on an adventure such as this one.

We had continuous sights of whales whilst penguins would continually swim around the ship in the turquoise waters filled by the glacial waters.

We would continue to sail around the bay, into every ‘finger’ and it would be when we got into the ‘little’ finger when Antarctica would give me and my wife another first.

On the first day, we had heard a large thunder like clap which Bob had told us was an avalanche whist many onboard had mentioned seeing iceberg carving from glaciers, but aside from hearing the noises, we had yet to see anything.

That changed in Admiralty Bay as not did we witness an avalanche but I got to witness a glacial carving, something I had always wanted to see live in person but despite sailing in Arctic Norway, Greenland, Iceland and Alaska, I had never been fortunate to have achieved doing it.

After that, we would pull out of the bay and back into the Bransfield Strait so we would quickly nip back to our room to change for tonight’s theatre show, a ships production show known as ‘Do You Wanna Dance’.

A surprise was waiting for me in my stateroom though as Princess had left a bag containing two wrapped gifts and after opening them, they were a couple of large mugs, with either a whale or penguin design and the date of our cruise on it- a nice touch from the line for an adventure such as this one.

It was then showtime in theatre were just like every other show, it was an enjoyable 45 minutes, professionally done but nothing new to the genre.

The next day was our 4th and final one in Antarctica, although when I say day, I really mean morning as we would get to Elephant Island, our final destination before heading back across the Drakes Passage, at around 6 am and leave before lunch time.

Elephant Island is arguably the most famous of all of the South Shetland Islands, it was certainly the only one I could name before visiting the region, as it was on the rugged coastline of the island where Shackleton and his men would end up as they headed north looking for rescue.

The story of Shackleton, the men who served under him and their incredible resilience is one that has almost gone down in British and Irish folklore.

It is something many will know from films, documentaries and television programmes but until you actually get to see where they were sailing in their lifeboats, where they landed on Elephant Island and get a look at the Voyage they needed to undertake to head to South Georgia, it’s hard to understand everything they went through.

With that said, I was there in summer, on a luxury cruise ship and hadn’t been through the ordeals they had already been through, but I did get at least a small insight into it.

That was helped by the weather conditions that we had as whilst our arrival at Elephant Island made it tricky to even see its vast cliffs, the further sailed around the island, the clearer things got.

We would soon see Elephant Seals, from where the island gets its name, on the small bits of shoreline on offer to them and of course there were plenty of penguins, including on icebergs.

Something that soon became apparent was the lack of options the Shackleton party had for where to land and whilst we got to see there first landing point through the murk, we were in for a treat for their final stopping place now known as Point Wild.

Named after Frank Wild, Shackleton’s right-hand man who was sent ahead to find a better place for them to make camp. It was a small strip of land on the north coast of the island that he found, which was right next to the Furness Glacier and surrounded by a couple of penguin colonies.

That gave the men access to fresh water, some space to camp and even food but whilst there would have been much more land back then due to sea levels been much higher nowadays, I still cannot imagine what it would have been like to survive for over 4 months there.

By this point the winds had dropped, the fog had cleared and the sea was a lake which allowed our captain to get us the closest we possibly could to Wild Point and that gave us an incredible opportunity to see up close where the men made camp and the bust of Captain Luis Pardo Villalon.

He was the captain of the Yelcho, a Chilean ship that set off from Punta Arenas to rescue the Shackleton party, with the Irish adventurer onboard.

We spent quite a long time in the small bay next to Point Wild and that gave us lots of time to learn about the history of it from Bob on commentary, see all of the penguins spread across the rocks around the bay and take in the majesty of the Furness Glacier for what was both a fascinating and sobering experience.

It was also a time tinged with sadness for me personally as this was the last few moments of my time in Antarctica but there was one more thing to look forward to and that was to head back out into the Drakes Passage.

With the Sapphire enjoying a cruise along the Drake Lake for our first crossing, just what would I be instore for on our return crossing?

Elephant Island is right on the edge of the Drakes Passage so it wouldn’t take long for me to find out what I was in for, and with a little bit of disappointment, it would be the Drake Lake that I would experience again.

After spending much of the last week out on deck for much of the day, it was now time to start returning to a regular cruise holiday starting by heading back to our room to remove some layers and heading up to the buffet for lunch.

Next, I headed down to the Piazza to see what if anything was happening there and were in luck as there was a performance by a violin due named Infinity Strings taking place.

After spending hours after hours on our feet in Antarctica, the rest of the day would just be some downtime for me and my wife, so we would head into club fusion, grab a drink and play some cards.

With us having a late lunch, we would head to the theatre first, where this night entertainer was a Chilean musician called Patricio Roehrs, who again was talented, but it was yet again a musician playing similar songs to what we had heard every night.

It was then back to the buffet for tea before taking a strong around the promenade deck and a relatively early night after not getting much sleep for the past few days.

We would wake up still in the Drakes Passage, but again it was smooth sailing which meant I never got to experience just what the Drakes Passage can deliver and for me that was something I would have loved to have gone through, but for my wife, it was a relief.

It would be a steady start to the day, with our first plans not been until the afternoon when we would head to the pool deck where first we would watch an ice sculpting display.

This weas done well, with the activities team keeping things interesting as the carver worked but this would just be the starter to the afternoons main course, the Polar Bear Plunge.

We had witnessed a similar thing when we sailed in the Arctic, but if you have not sailed in the polar regions, it is a tradition for those onboard expedition ship to jump into the icy cold ocean water whilst on a traditional cruise ship, you jump into the similar chilly cold water of the outside swimming pool.

There was a big crowd and a decent atmosphere for the 100 or so who took the plunge, with arguably the hardest part been the waiting before hand as the air temperature was much colder than the water temperature.

That evening would see our regular routine of or eating in the buffet and heading down to the theatre, where the somewhat repetitive nature of the entertainment was highlighted by a returning performance from Yaniv Zarif, but in fairness he did do a whole new set unlike another returning performer later on in the cruise.

After not touching Terra Firma for a week, and not yet in 2026, it was time to get off of the Sapphire and head for the city of Stanley, the capital of the Falkland Islands, a British Overseas Territory.

Stanley is a small city, with a narrow entrance between islands to reach it, so as all cruise ships have to do, our ship dropped anchor and I jumped on a tender to get to shore.

The port has a reputation of been the most missed cruise port in the world and after visiting there I am not too surprised, as not is the Falkland’s incredibly remote, but it is very rugged and the channel that tender boats have to go into is very narrow.

It is also a longer trip in as it is around 30 minutes from ship to shore, but for my visit there, the winds were calm and the journey in was smooth.

We had booked a Shorex to the Bluff Cove Penguin Rookery for our visit and I am so glad that I did as it was an incredible few hours where I just simply had a smile on my face throughout.

You start of by jumping into a minibus in a small car park next to where your tender drops you off and then head out to Bluff Cove, a farm around 30-40 minutes from Stanley itself.

We had a great driver/guide who gave us an insight into life on the island and pointed out anything of interest along the way before explaining how thing work once you get there.

After a brief talk from the rangers there, you basically have 2 hours to explore the farm and beach on your own and so long as you don’t walk past the white flags that are all over the floor to separate the penguins from the humans and keep 6ft from any that were on the ‘human’ side.

That was a similar set up to what we experienced in Chile, but things were so much more relaxed in Bluff Cove and so long as you followed the rules, you were left to enjoy things on your own.

That made it a much more enjoyable experience which started by visiting a group of King penguins but I was soon distracted by a Gentoo penguin who walked behind to set off to a small lake that separated the farmers field we were in and the beach.

I got to follow it through the field, over some rocks and watch as it entered the lake. It felt like I was filming the next BBC wildlife documentary but if I ever needed proof of why I wouldn’t get a job doing that, I had forgotten to press record on my camera!

Thankfully, that was to be just a taste of the experiences I would have there as not only would a number of his friends come down the route, but later on I would get close to penguins coming in and out of the ocean.

Before I get to that, at this point the drizzle that had greeted us to the Cove was much heavier but thankfully they have you covered there as there is a small beach front tea room and gift shop.

You even get a drink and snacks included in the cost of excursion, so this was the perfect time to head into the tearoom, dry off and enjoy a selection of homemade cakes.

By the time we had done that and spent a bit too much than we should have done in the gift shop, the rain had relented allowing us to head back out on the beach.

It’s not just penguins that I would see whilst at Bluff Cove, as there were numerous other birds (including a turkey vulture) as well as sheep and cows.

It was my return to the beach when I got to watch penguins walk close to me from the rocks, across the sand and dive into the waves of the ocean before disappearing before seeing some go in the opposite direction.

It soon felt like been a wildlife photographer again and this would be an experience that I would never forget.

My time there absolutely flew by and after jumping back on our minibus, we were soon back in Stanley for a few hours of exploring.

I would start by walking from the car park at the tender dock and to the nearby John Street, which I would walk along from where it starts to where it ends as that would take me past a number of interesting building, the islands main school.

Crossing the road at its end, I continued on St Mary’s Walk which took me past the cities fire station and its hospital before bringing you back down to the waterfront.

I would then head past the governor’s house, past a small garden and visit the Battle of the Falkland’s Memorial. From there is was straight back along the seafront to the tender dock, but there were quite a few things of interest along the way and a few places to stop off.

There was also lots of wildlife to see along the way with numerous seabirds right next to the walking path and we would also see seals, sea lions and dolphins in the city.

Our first stopping off point was a small jetty where there is not only an Antarctic Memorial and a well-kept courtyard but there is also the Falkland Islands Museum, which h is free to enter for those on a cruise ship, and a tearoom.

Me and my wife would walk around the museum and grab a snack from the tea-room, which as a few indoor tables but most of the tables are in the courtyard.

At the roadside entrance to the courtyard is the offices of Penguins News, the only newspaper on the island, and next door to that is the Falklands post office, where your postcards would visit if you posted them in Antarctica.

Across the road is the Saint Mary’s church and Police Station, whilst back next to the sea is the mast of the SS Great Britain.

As you get closer to tender port, you get the chance to do some shopping including the Capstan Gift Shop and West Store, a supermarket with a popular café.

Next to the supermarket is the Christ Church Cathedral and Whale Bone sculpture that are two of the more famous sights in the city.

After that, you are basically back at where the tenders drop you off and pick you up, where there are some Victorian style houses, a tourist information office, a café and a jetty.

So that just about wrapped up my time in Stanley and what a great place it is, but there was one parting gift as a dolphin swam right up to the tender boat as we were boarding, but sadly I didn’t have my camera to hand.

That evening I skipped the theatre and stayed out on deck for what is a pretty stunning exit out of the Falklands, which start by seeing plenty of penguins, the last we would see on this adventure, then have a fly past by a small plane before seeing some whales, again for the last time.

The scenery is also pretty special as you leave Stanley, get views of some mountains and then sail out past the other islands of the Falklands archipelago but with darkness looming, we headed to the buffet ad some tea and then just went to relax back in the cabin before bed.

After leaving Stanley, we would have two days at sea, which would give us the chance to spend some downtime relaxing around the ship, watching some of the activities on offer and playing some cards in the Wheelhouse Bar.

We would head to the theatre for a couple of shows including ‘Let Me Entertain You’, an inhouse production show and a return performance by Greg London.

I should start by saying that he is a talented singer but in his first performance, something just seemed off.

In his second performance, which was supposed to be a new show, but he did many of the same songs, the same jokes and the same stories whilst often forgetting where he was in the set and even on stage.

He came across really badly in this one but whilst we had seen the rest of the entertainers around the ship, especially in Antarctica where most of them hung around together, we had yet to see him.

That would change when we saw him in the buffet and it was disappointing to see him giving the staff a lot of grief, seemingly for no reason and going all in on him been a big star by demanding to see the head chef.

Sadly, the main thing to do over these sea days was to repack as our adventure was starting to come to an end but we still had one shore day left and that would be the last day of cruise before departure day.

In Montevideo, we took advantage of the city centre cruise port to simply spend the day exploring on our own for what was the first and only regular cruise day for me on this whole adventure.

I always prefer ports where you dock centrally and can simply set off on your own and that is just what Montevideo in Uruguay has to offer.

You start by walking through the port, past a small garden/display and then out the port gate where you pop out onto quite a chaotic road, but we did arrive the same time as the ferry from Buenos Aires.

The majority of those onboard, who weren’t heading off on excursion, would simply cross the main road and continue straight on which take you into the centre of town or over to a large market but I would head left, walk past the port, past the La Paz former train station and up to the impressive legislative building in the city.

By the time we got there, a number of shorex coaches also arrived as it seemed to be a popular place for those on city tours to head.

We then walked back through the city, visited a few city squares of which there are lots of in the city, including the Plaza Cagancha, the Plaza Juan Pedro Fabini and Plaza Independencia.

All of those squares are found along the Avenue 18 de Julio, which is one of the city’s main shopping streets with Independence Square been one of the highlights of the city as it is there where many of the cities most famous landmarks are found.

From there we would back towards the port starting by visiting the Plaza de la Constitucion, followed by the Plaza Zabala.

Next, we headed to the Calle Perez Castellano, which is a bustling street full of gift shops, bars and cafes which takes you from the city down to the impressive Mercado del Puerto.

The market is a mix of gift shops, restaurants that is popular with both tourists and locals and proved to be a good end to my first ever day in Uruguay.

From there it is a short stroll back to the ship where I would have some time to relax before heading back to our room to sort out our bags for departure as the next morning, I would arrive back into Buenos Aires.

Our captain had done a great job in getting us around Antarctica and allowing us to have some incredible experiences there but one thing that was an ongoing issue was with his timings.

This was especially true for our arrival back into Buenos Aires, where the arrival time continued to change including the day when we all got our departure times.

These were given to us in our staterooms but shortly after they arrived, our cruise director informed us that the times would change as we were due to arrive later than planned only for the captain to later announced it would be a different time from both of those times.

In the end, we woke early, before we were due to arrive but we were already docked, despite that, we would head to our designated meeting place for our shuttle bus to the airport but our time for disembarking soon came, then went and then was well in the past with no update from the line.

I had a bit of leeway between when we were due at the airport and when I needed to be there but that was soon disappearing but for others it had now gone, with some around us getting a bit stressed and panicking.

Well over an hour after we should have left the ship, our group was finally called and from their things moved along quite quickly, although you still need to get the bus between the ship and the terminal.

We did have another slight hold up in traffic but still made it to the airport in plenty of time, although I was one of the last to check in for our flight between Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro.

My flight between Buenos Aires and Rio was with British Airways, who have a flight that touches down in Rio before continuing on to Heathrow.

Some people get off, some stay but more join the flight in Rio and that leaves lots of empty seats on the first leg so with these two airports having low taxes and landing fees, I would take advantage to use some Avios points and travel in business class.

This was my first time flying in a suite, complete with a door, and it was a great experience that I would highly recommend if you can get it at the right price, as I luckily managed.

That meant me and my wife arrived at Rio in high spirits, which was only added to by the friendly immigration staff in Rio, a rarity in the field, and after a 45 minute transfer, we would arrive at our hotel in Copacabana.

It was late afternoon by now, so I simply got changed and headed to the beach but despite the sun going down, the beach was still packed, and it soon became easy to see why, as floodlights came on and the partying continued.

I had an early start the next morning so would head back to the hotel to get some rest and after a good night sleep, I was already for my visit to 3 of the highlights of Rio.

Starting by heading to the iconic Christ the Redeemer, I got to see quite a lot of the city and things were all running to time.

That would change as when heading up to the top of the mountain to view the iconic statue, buses drop you off at a terminal ,where you have to queue to get a ticket, and then queue to get on another bus which takes you up to the top (or there is a train you can take but that too had a massive queue).

It was at this point when it dawned on me that it was the main summer holidays in Brazil and Rio is of course the main beach holiday resort in the country.

It took around an hour for us to finally get onto a minibus to take us up to the top and as you would expect, it was incredibly crowded up there.

It was impressive and the views from up there are stunning but as it often the case with these sorts of things, it is never quite as impressive when you are up close to it as it is from a distance.

The statue is located on the Corcovado mountain, in the Tijuca National Park which goes by the nickname of the ‘Lungs of the City’ and it is easy to see why.

We next drove back through the national park and into the Santa Teresa district of the city which is where the rich and famous used to live.

It is still home to a number of villas and retains a charm to it when compared to other parts of the city although its cobbled streets don’t make for the smoothest drive!

One of the highlights of the district is the Santa Teresa tramway and whilst I wouldn’t get the chance to ride it, I did see it as it went passed us and I also got to see the impressive Carioca Aqueduct which takes the tram from the city centre to the district.

Our drive through Santa Teresa took us to the Selaron Steps, a tourist attraction close to the cities cathedral that were designed and built by the Chilean artist Jorge Selaron.

Whilst interesting, it was simply too crowded to enjoy our time at the steps and to even try walking up them other than the first tier or two, so we would turn back around and head into the gifts shop that line the street down to it.

There is a good vibe down there and on a regular day, it would be a good place to visit but it was soon time to head onto our last stop on the tour, the iconic Sugarloaf Mountain.

Its only around a 10 minute drive between the two but we were already a couple hours after our expecting finishing time, so some would stay on the minibus to be taken back to Copacabana, although as is often the case in situations like this, it was the passengers who couldn’t be found at their hotel and then who were late back to the bus at every stop who had the issue with us running late- go figure!

It takes two cable car rides to get to its highest peak but thankfully it was far less crowded here and we would soon be at the very top where we would just have around 40 minutes of free time to explore.

Aside from the incredible views you get up at the top, including looking back over the city of Rio, its beaches and even back to the Christ the Redeemer statue, there are also a number of shops, cafes and stalls to visit up there.

With the ack of crowds up there, it was a much more enjoyable experience and quickly became the highlight of our tour, which ended with us been dropped off on the seafront in Copacabana.

It only seemed fitting to then spend time down at the beach, walking along the promenade and just taking in what is one of the world’s most famous beach fronts and I have to say that I really like the vibe of Copacabana.

It was full of families and people just enjoying themselves for my visit but I only had a short period of time to enjoy it as I soon had to head back to my hotel, repack, get washed and changed and then head out to a dinner show known as The Roxy.

I dropped onto this by accident I was just searching around Google Maps for places to head near to our hotel and spotted the round building that houses the show.

It is set in a former cinema, over two levels with a range of different sized table set ups where you start with a meal whilst listening to some musicians and lounge singers.

It was a tasty meal and all of the staff were friendly, whilst the singers and musicians were of a high quality, so it was a great start tonight.

The show itself featured lots of singers and dancers with a large screen that told an ongoing story which took you around the different regions of Brazil and showed you the local music and dance culture.

The second part of the show was really well done and really enjoyable and whilst it is 99% in Portuguese, we could follow the story and the interactive parts were easy to understand and join in with, so if you find yourself in Rio, I would highly recommend The Roxy dinner show.

So that was it for this adventure and what a trip it was, it really was something that had a bit of everything.

I will only write our brief thoughts on the ship here as we have already done an in-depth review of the Sapphire Princess which can be viewed via the link below.

As mentioned, the cruise aspect of this trip took place on the Sapphire Princess, a 2004 launched, Gem-class ship that is 115,875 gross tonnage in weight and that can host around 2,670 passengers.

This was the first time that I had sailed with the line and that was really all down to the ship as both Princess and Celebrity offered similar cruisers for a similar price.

The thing that made the difference for me was the amount of outdoor vantage points which were ideal for our time in Patagonia and Antarctica and on that, she really delivered.

My stateroom on the Sapphire was B517, an internal cabin on the Baja deck, or deck 11 if you prefer and there was lots to like about it, including the size of it, the amount of storage and its location but there was some issues.

I go more in-depth into my thoughts on the cabin in my ship review but fair to say it would be a cabin that I would book again.

From huge cities to small towns and from Antarctica to beach resorts and from city breaks to an expedition style cruise and whilst something such as this takes a lot of planning, saving and takes some effort to achieve, it was more than worth it.